KVCC Bequest To Be Used For Scholarships

Kalamazoo Valley Community College reported this week that it had received a significant financial gift that will be used for student scholarships.

The bequest came from Thelma Hall and the late Rexford (Rex) E. Hall, who died in November in Florida and left $383,288.

It’s the largest bequest the 45-year-old college has ever received.

KVCC President Marilyn Schlack said she is always gratified when members of the community show their support for the college in such meaningful ways.

“I am delighted that the Halls chose to give such a generous donation to the college,” she said. “Their generosity will help our students and the greater community for years to come.”

The late Rexford E. Hall was the son of Richard D. Hall, whose father Charles C. Hall formed Kalamazoo’s Durametallic Corp. with Henry White in the 1920s. The business was first granted a patent for metallic foil packaging material and later became a well known supplier of machinery packing and sealant material.

Thelma Hall was Richard Hall’s wife and Rex’s mother. She was a switchboard operator at the Kalamazoo State Hospital. Rexford first worked at Durametallic and later became an assistant professor of industrial education at Western Michigan University.

The bequest was granted to KVCC with no restrictions. The funds will be used by the KVCC Foundation to create an endowment that will continue to fund scholarships for students.

KVCC offers a wide variety of educational programs and services at its original campus in Texas Township as well as the Arcadia Commons campus in downtown Kalamazoo and the Groves campus in Texas Township, home of the KVCC Michigan Technical Education Center. It also operates the Kalamazoo Valley Museum in downtown Kalamazoo.